I’m away from my home base this evening and watching the original Miracle on 34th Street with my family…well…I did. I’m not typing this up at the same time as I’m watching it!

So I’m going to keep this short and take a moment to wish you all a Merry Christmas! This is the penultimate entry to my 24 movies in 24 days. And some nights were harder than others to get this posted on time.

Just like It’s A Wonderful Life…there’s something about these black and white classics that just seem more magical. They were the O.G.’s of Christmas movies. They were the template for which all future Christmas movies would be based.

And it’s the kind of magic that makes you still believe like a kid again.

I’m sure those of you who consider Love Actually one of their favourite Christmas movies don’t need me to tell you so. And those who don’t are probably at least aware that it’s always in Top 10 lists around the world.

So I won’t bother getting into actually reviewing Love Actually (“It’s good!”). Instead, I’m going to do a different tactic. I’m going to see how many different “Love Actually Connections” there are to other famous TV shows and movies since then.

Let’s start with the obvious one:

Andrew Lincoln is now the lead actor in a little show called The Walking Dead.

That scene with Andrew Lincoln with the cue cards was directly inspired by Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues”.

Yes…three of the most awesome action heroes the past decade all starred in this movie!

Alan Rickman and Billy Bob Thornton also appears in the second Christmas movie for my list this year.

Unknowns (at the time) who turned into big stars include Keira Knightly (Pirates of the Caribbean), January Jones (Mad Men), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit and Sherlock), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (tons of stuff!).

Did y’all know that this was John Ritter’s last live action movie role before he died? I know, I know. This is EXACTLY the fact that you want to hear so close to Christmas. But lets turn this sad news around a bit.

Let’s look at how absolutely endearing and funny person Mr. John Ritter was.

CLICK ON THE GIF

Overall, John Ritter aside, Bad Santa was a pretty good Christmas flick. The ending was a little bittersweet but the good characters ended up happy, the bad characters ended up in jail and the bad characters with heart ended up somewhere in between.

Oh no! Not me! I love It’s A Wonderful Life! It’s one of the all time bests for me. Every year I tend to only really remember from the part when George first meets Clarence until the magical end. I always forget how good the hour and a half lead up to that is.

Actually, if you want to check out my VERY FIRST REAL TIME REVIEWS of It’s A Wonderful Life where I tweeted it live as I watched it, Read this flashback Rankatron! It’s a fun read.

No…It’s not THIS Adam that’s going to tell you the truth about It’s a Wonderful Life.

It’s this other Adam. Adam Connover. He’s a comedian that uncovers the truth behind certain beliefs. Such as how It’s a Wonderful Life didn’t used to be a Christmas staple for many. The movie just happened to be in the right place as the right time. Watch this! Watch as Adam Connover uncover the truth of It’s A Wonderful Life!

And it’s ALL TRUE! You can verify it yourself! And without this happening, this movie might’ve been forgotten in time.

Toyland must be one of the earlier versions of the Matrix that was mentioned in the movies. It fills in a lot of blanks that I’ve always wondered like:

Was Drew Barrymore just high or drunk imagining Toyland?

Why didn’t this hat catch on after this movie?

Was this video from 90’s legendary sketch show Mr. Show with Bob and David as sequel to this movie?

Was Wizard of Oz a prequel to this since both movies involve a young girl getting knocked silly and visits a strange world?

What’s the exchange rate of Cookie Currency in Toyland to Bitcoin?

Did the final battle scene between the Toy Soldiers and the monsters inspire the bloody battle scenes from Braveheart?

In any case, I enjoyed my first watching of Babes In Toyland. And the twist of the Toymaster being Santa at the end was the most obvious twist since realizing Clark Kent and Superman are the same dude.